Shell warned of significantly lower earnings in its integrated gas division and cut production guidance across its oil and gas segments. The London-based energy giant said that it expects earnings from its core integrated gas division to fall significantly in the fourth quarter compared with the previous one due to expiring hedging contracts. The division reported $2.87 billion in adjusted earnings in the third quarter. In a trading update ahead of its earnings due on Jan. 30, Shell said it expects to book a noncash post-tax impairment of between $1.5 billion and $3.0 billion owing to macroeconomic and operational changes. The impairment includes an up to $1.2 billion charge in its renewables and energy solutions division. Cash flow from operations is also expected to take a $1.3 billion hit due to emission-permit payments in Germany and the U.S., which are normally payable in the fourth-quarter, the company said.

After a good spell till an hour past noon, Swiss stocks retreated, but emerged higher in the final hour thanks to selective buying to end the day's session on a positive note. Weak eurozone economic sentiment data and anxiety ahead of the release of Fed minutes later in the day, and U.S. jobs data due later in the week, rendered the mood cautious. The benchmark SMI closed up 45.44 points or 0.38% at 11,876.21, after scaling a low of 11,783.22 and a high of 11,937.72 intraday. Partners Group climbed nearly 2.5% thanks to a rating upgrade by Deutsche Bank. Sandoz Group gained 1.44%, while Holcim, Roche Holding, ABB, Novartis, Lonza Group, Nestle and Sika closed higher by 0.5 to 1.1%. Geberit and Logitech International closed lower by 1.52% and 1.43%, respectively. Alcon, Lindt & Spruengli, Adecco and VAT Group drifted down 0.8 to 1.2%.

Europe
European stocks closed weak on Wednesday, weighed down by data showing a drop in eurozone economic sentiment in the month of December, and decline in German retail sales and factory orders. Markets also awaited the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent monetary policy meeting due later today, and U.S. jobs data due later in the week. The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 0.19%. Germany's DAX edged down 0.07% and France's CAC 40 closed down 0.49%, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 crept up 0.07%. Switzerland's SMI gained 0.38%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Turkiye closed weak. Denmark and Russia ended higher, while Belgium, Greece and Sweden closed flat. In the UK market, Barratt Redrow, St. James's Place, United Utilities, JD Sports Fashion, Legal & General, British Land, M&G and Prudential closed lower by 3 to 5.1%. EasyJet, Lloyds Banking Group, Aviva, Persimmon, Kingfisher, Next, Halma, Segro and Hiscox were among the other major losers. BAE Systems climbed more than 3%. Pershing Square Holdings gained nearly 2.5%, while Standard Chartered, Smith (DS), Relx, HSBC Holdings, Antofagasta, Reckitt Benckiser, Compass Group, Convatec Group and Haleon ended higher by 1 to 2%. In the French market, Eurofins Scientific, STMicroElectronics and Vivendi ended more than 4.5% down. Stellantis closed down by about 2.5%. The company announced that its racing division, Stellantis Motorsport, is collaborating with Intel Automotive, affiliated to chip maker Intel Corp., to be its technical partner in Formula E. Under the deal, the companies will work to accelerate the development of technologies specific to Formula E, in the electric series. Teleperformance, Kering, Capgemini, L'Oreal, Vinci and LVMH lost 1 to 2.5%. Thales rallied about 4% and Edenred gained nearly 4%. Societe Generale climbed about 2%. In the German market, Siemens Energy lost more than 5%.

United States
Following the sharp pullback seen over the course of Tuesday's session, stocks showed a lack of during trading on Wednesday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing narrowly mixed. While the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged down 10.80 points or 0.1 percent to 19,478.87, the Dow rose 106.84 points or 0.3 percent to 42,635.20 and the S&P 500 crept up 9.22 points or 0.2 percent to 5,918.25. The choppy trading on Wall Street came amid uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates following the release of mixed U.S. jobs data. While payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector job growth slowed more than expected in December, the Labor Department released a report showing weekly jobless claims unexpectedly fell to their lowest level in almost eleven months. Exxon Mobil profits will likely miss fourth-quarter-earnings estimates by close to 20%, one analyst argued as he trimmed his numbers. While Exxon Mobil expects changes in gas prices to improve earnings by up to $400 million, the global energy company anticipates losses in other segments, according to a regulatory form the company filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Advanced Micro Devices is investing $20 million in Absci, a drug-discovery company based in Washington state, in a move aimed at selling its artificial intelligence chips in the healthcare sector. The deal is structured as a private investment in a public equity and includes an equity stake in Absci. AMD didn’t disclose the amount of its stake. AMD, which is based in Santa Clara, Calif., said the investment and partnership between the two companies will help reduce hardware costs and optimize AI solutions for Absci.

Asia
The majority of stock exchanges in East Asian trading saw losses on Thursday - although these were mostly very small. In China, weak but expected inflation data is hardly moving share prices across the board. The Shanghai Composite lost 0.2 per cent, while the Hang Seng Index was little changed.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries showed a lack of direction over the course of the session before closing slightly lower. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by 1.0 basis point to an eight-month closing high of 4.693 percent.

Analysis
Deutsche Bank lowers Clariant target to CHF 11 (11.50) – Hold
Bank of America raises DWS target to EUR 47 (45) – Buy
Barclays lowers Aixtron target to 17 (19) EUR/Equalweight – Traders

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